The Accidental Wedding
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: To let her old fiance Will down easy when he comes to rekindle their relationship, Belle tells him she's engaged to Rumple, even though they've never been more than friends. Then, when Will suggests they marry because they seem so much in love, they go through with it to keep up the pretense, which turns out not to be such a bad idea after all. One-shot.


Disclaimer: Only the plot belongs to me

A/n: Belle is Archie's housekeeper in this fic.

"What do you think of this outfit?" Belle asked Rumple as she stood in front of him wearing a pair of dirty overalls that were a size too large, brown work boots, and a raggedy blue sweater. "This outfit doesn't send any romantic signals at all, does it?"

"No," Rumple shook his head as he stood up from the table they were sharing at Granny's. "But why in the world would you want to dress like that?"

"I know this might sound silly to you, but…I'm trying to let an old fiancé of mine down easy," Belle explained.

"What?" Rumple asked. "You never told me you'd been engaged before!"

"I was," Belle nodded. "Five years. I broke it off, though. He was the most attractive man the world. He had the loveliest smile and the nicest eyes I'd ever seen."

"But?" Rumple asked.

"Yeah," Belle nodded, still smiling. "That too. But the thing is, he just couldn't hold down a job. He thought it would be easier to steal instead so he could further his drinking habit and he had no interest in reading. I had no future with him, so I had to end things. But since I still loved him in a way, I let him down easy by saying that if we were still free in five years, we could try again. And now, here he is, right on schedule. I invited him over for drinks tonight. What am I supposed to say? I can't tell him the truth, can I?" She groaned. "It's times like this that I wish I were more forthright. It's so much easier to tell people things when you don't worry about how they'll react, or how hurt they might be."

"Don't worry, Belle," Rumple said and put a hand on hers. "We'll figure something out. I promise."

"I hope so," Belle nodded. "Cause if it were solely up to me, I'd probably be engaged by the end of the night because of my inability to say 'no'. Gather up anyone you can find to help me," she pleaded. "Knowing myself as I do, I'm gonna need a lot of backup."

* * *

When Belle got back to Doctor Hopper's to do her evening housecleaning routine, she found not only him in the house, but also Rumple and David. "Hello," she said. "Have you all come to help me?"

"Yes," Rumple nodded. "I thought they would be the best to help you with this problem. I hope you don't mind."

"No," Belle shook her head and smiled. "Like I said, I need all the help I can get." She looked at the clock. "Oh, my goodness! He comes in half an hour. I didn't realize it was so late! Doctor Hopper, do you mind if I delay the evening cleaning until later? I won't be able to do it when he's here."

"All right," Archie told her. "You go and change and remember to breathe! We don't want you to pass out!"

"I don't _need_ to change," Belle said. "The overalls and sweater are what I'm wearing."

"Are you sure?" Archie asked, his hands clutching the back of the old gray armchair that David was settled in. "All right, whatever you want."

Then the doorbell rang and Belle started like a frightened deer. "There he is!" She said. "Someone get the door! And do we have any spinach in the fridge? I want to stick some in my teeth!"

"I've never seen her this worked up before, have you?" David asked Archie.

"No," Archie shook his head. "It really makes me wonder just what this man is like. All I know is that his name is Will and that they were engaged some time ago."

The doorbell rang again. "Anyone home?" said a cockney-sounding voice from the hallway. "I can hear you talking."

"Oh, sorry," Archie called and went to get the door. He allowed Will entrance and Rumple had to grit his teeth at the casual way the man was dressed and the fact that both his shirt and jeans had dirt and mud on them.

"Belle!" David called. "Your friend is here!"

Belle made her entrance and gave Will a hug, and when they pulled apart, he shook his head. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to get mud on your sweater. You look so pretty and warm."

"Oh, go on," Belle chuckled nervously. "It's just a ratty old thing, don't worry about it. What brings you here?"

"My undying love for you," he blurted out and then backpedaled. "Damn," he shook his head. "I meant to lead up to that instead of just springing it on you."

It was at that moment that Archie and David decided to excuse themselves to give Belle and Will some privacy. "If you need us, you know where we are," David told her.

"Thanks," Belle told David before turning back to Will.

"It's fine," She told him. "Come and sit down. From the look of your shirt, you've been spending a lot of time outside. Still in your same profession?"

"Yes," Will nodded. "But we're giving all we get to poor people now! That's something, isn't it?" He gave her a sad puppy dog look and Belle felt herself beginning to cave, so she grabbed Rumple's hand that didn't have the drink in it to try and calm herself down.

"Yes," she nodded. "It's something."

"You want to introduce me to your friend there?" Will asked.

"Yes," Belle smiled and tried to calm her ragged breaths. "This is Rumplestiltskin. He's my fiance."

Rumple heard this and spat his drink all over his suit pants. For months, he'd been dreaming about being with Belle as more than just friends and now seemed to be happening. "What?" He asked, trying not to look shocked or confused.

"You're my fiance," she said, locking eyes with him. "We've been engaged for a month, remember?"

"Oh, yes!" Rumple nodded. "That's right! It's such a recent thing that I can't even believe it happened."

"Well, isn't that wonderful for both of you?" Will told them. "Why don't we have a drink to celebrate?"

"What a good idea," Belle replied and took Rumple's hand. "Why don't you come into the kitchen with me and help with the glasses?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Rumple told her. "I'd do anything for you."

When they'd gotten in the kitchen and Belle had dropped Rumple's hand, she looked at him apologetically. "I'm so sorry I sprang that on you without any notice," she said. "He was just looking at me in a way that turned my knees to mush and what I did, well…it seemed like the easiest way to let him down without disappointing him."

"I understand," Rumple nodded. "But you do realize that since this is the path you've chosen, we're going to have to keep our demonstrations of affection as real as possible so it's convincing."

"Right," Belle nodded. "I understand."

He took her in his arms to kiss her then and when Will came into the kitchen to see what was keeping the drinks, they pulled apart. "Sorry about that," Belle apologized. She'd liked Rumple's kiss more than she'd thought she would, and had insisted on keeping it going, even when Rumple had initially tried to pull away. "That was probably something you didn't want to see."

"Well, since I'm a guest here, I can't really stop you, can I?" Will asked. "Not that I want to, of course. And all I ever wanted was for you to be happy."

They went out to the living room just as Archie and David emerged from hiding.

"Just in time, boys!" Will cried. "Why don't you have a drink with us to celebrate the engagement? If you haven't already done it, of course. But you probably have."

"What?" David asked.

Rumple took him and Archie into the kitchen then and explained the situation. "She didn't want to hurt his feelings so she told him we were engaged," he said. "Go along with it, please?"

"Well, since it was her idea and not yours, I believe I can do that safely," Archie replied. "After this, he'll probably leave and not come back."

"Yes," Rumple nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

So they all went back to the living room and toasted Belle and Rumple's upcoming wedding as Belle and Rumple themselves sat close together with their heads touching and smiles on their faces.

"You know, you two look so in love," Will told them as they kissed one another again. "Why don't you get married right now?"

"What?" Belle blurted out after pulling away from Rumple.

"Why don't you get married right now?" Will repeated. "A month isn't a long engagement period, I know, but why hold off a good thing? And we would all be more than happy to be your witnesses."

"But I, um, uh-" Belle got out. She wasn't sure she was ready to marry, much less to a man that she'd only been 'engaged' to for less than an hour, but if she admitted that, it would mean that Will would make another play for her, and she didn't want that either. And Rumple really wasn't so bad. In fact, he was rather nice, and part of her had hoped he would ask her out sometime. Now, apparently, they were skipping that part. "All right," she said and looked at Rumple. "If it's fine with you, that is. I don't want to start our married life being bossy when we should really be making decisions like this together."

"It's fine," Rumple replied, taking Belle's hand and kissing it. "I'd like that very much. But, do you want to change your clothes before we're wed?"

"Oh, yes!" Belle nodded, looking down at her overalls in horror. "I completely forgot I was wearing these. You want to come help me pick out a dress?"

"Yes," Rumple nodded as they strode off to her room. "Yes, I would."

* * *

It took a little time, but Belle decided on a white dress, and then went to the bathroom down the hall to put it on before coming out and asking Rumple (who was guarding the door) to zip it up for her.

"Thanks," she said and smiled at him. "Do you think this is the right dress?"

"Yes," he said, looking at the white dress that reached her knees and whose section above the waist was made entirely of lace. She then braided her hair and Rumple zapped her up a white rose, then they went to see Will.

"So…" Belle asked. "How are we going to do this marriage thing? Who's going to officiate?"

"I will," Will replied.

"You will?" Belle asked. "So my old fiancé is willing to marry me and my new fiancé? Isn't that sweet? And kind of odd?"

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Will asked. "I could find someone else."

"No, no," Belle said, not wanting anyone outside their little group to ask questions and reveal the deception. "You can do it. I don't mind. But can I ask how you became able to do weddings?"

"It was part of one of our jobs," Will explained. "Robin wanted to take a church that had been thieving from the local poor down a few pegs and so in order to get in, we had to dress up like priests, and…"

"Will this wedding be binding or not, Will?" David asked.

"Oh, it will be," Will assured him. "I never like to do anything halfway." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a form. "Fill this out and then we can proceed."

"I can't _believe_ this is actually going to happen," David whispered to Archie as Belle and Rumple filled out the form. "Do you think we should say something when we're asked if anyone has any objections?"

"No," Archie shook his head. "If this is something Belle wants to do and they both seem reasonably attracted to one another, I don't see any reason to stop it."

"All right," David sighed.

Once the papers were filled out and Rumple had zapped up a couple of rings, the ceremony began.

"Do you, Rumplestiltskin, take Belle Colette French to be your lawfully wedded wife as long as you both shall live?" Will asked Rumple.

"I do," Rumple nodded, smiling at her as she put the ring on his finger.

Will turned. "Do you, Belle Colette French, take Rumplestiltskin to be your lawfully wedded husband as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Belle smiled as he put her ring on her.

"Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," Will said with a smile.

As Belle and Rumple kissed, David asked, "Aren't you gonna see if either of us have objections?"

"Well, do you?" Will asked.

"No," David shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't skip anything that had to be in there."

"Ah," Will nodded. "Okay." He then patted Belle on the shoulder. "It…it was lovely to see you," he said. "I…I wish you the best of luck with your new life."

"Same to you," Belle told him. "Thank you for all your help."

"No problem," Will smiled. "There's no reason for me to hang around here anymore when you've got a new husband to spend time with. Goodbye, Belle."

"Goodbye!" Belle called as he bade farewell to everyone else and made his way out the door.

"Well that was fun," David said once he'd gone. Then he looked at Belle. "The lengths you'll go to not to disappoint someone are truly impressive."

"I know," Belle nodded. "But I don't think I did anything bad."

"I never said that," David told her. "I just…I don't want you to feel like you did something tonight that you may regret tomorrow just because you wanted to let a man down easy. You and Rumple haven't even been on a date yet."

"That's a good point," Rumple nodded. "Belle, would you like to go on a date? Hamburgers at Granny's to discuss what we just did and other things like which side of the bed each one of us will sleep on?"

"Sounds good to me," Belle nodded. "I'll get my coat." She got her jacket and Rumple helped her put it on. Then she told Archie, "Don't wait up for me. If it gets late, you can just go to bed and I'll come in with my key." She paused and then smiled. "Wait, no I won't. I might be spending the night with my husband. But I'll be back to help you with breakfast and things in the morning. I promise."

"That's okay, Belle," Archie told her. "I can handle myself for a week or so while you two have a decent honeymoon."

"Thank you, Doctor Hopper," Belle told him. "You're the best."

 **The End**


End file.
